KubeCon China

It all started unexpectedly. After submitting many CFPs and facing rejections, I submitted a KubeCon China CFP with the mindset that it would likely get rejected, but I decided to fill it out anyway. After submitting it, I forgot about it and continued with my usual work. A few weeks later, I had a trek planned in a remote area for a week. After completing the trek and regaining network connectivity on my way home, I started scrolling through my emails from the past week.

To my surprise, I found that my submission for KubeCon China had been accepted, and the deadline to confirm my participation as a speaker was just 1 hour away. I quickly confirmed my attendance and secured my KubeCon China tickets uff... haha. Unfortunately, the deadline for scholarship applications had passed the day before, so I missed out on that opportunity. Even though I contacted event support to explain my situation of being in a remote area for the week, it wasn’t much help.

Since the event was going to be held in Hong Kong SAR, China and I also got stiped through my internship so I decided to attend it with my on expense.

Note: Most of the time, your Dan Kohn Scholarship gets accepted if you are attending as a speaker, so be sure to apply for it along with your CFP if needed. Please note that this scholarship is intended for those who cannot attend these events due to financial constraints, so apply thoughtfully.

Hong Kong Day 1:

I landed in Hong Kong a day before KubeCon to make sure I could rest after travelling by train and plane. It was a good decision.

I was staying in Tim Cha Sui, and the event hotel was within walking distance from my Airbnb. That day, I explored Harbour Beach and ended the day with some ramen, haha.

KubeCon Day 1:

I woke up late due to the time zone change and ended up missing my keynote session. Somehow, I managed to make it to the hotel. It's tough to ask for help in Hong Kong since most people don't speak English, so navigating on your own can be a challenge.

Anyway, the first day started with me getting soaked in the rain, but it was all part of the adventure. I reached the hotel, got my badge, and began connecting with people there.

I explored the venue, attended some amazing sessions, and met incredible CNCF project maintainers. It was fun chatting with them about various topics, especially since I’m also a maintainer of the CNCF sandbox project Meshery.

After grabbing some swag and meeting new people, I bumped into a few Indian friends as well. Unfortunately, KubeCon China wasn’t as big as KubeCon NA or Europe, so I missed out on the after-parties.

However, my first day at KubeCon was still amazing. I made some new friends, and we decided to explore the nightlife in Hong Kong to end the day on a high note 😉.

KubeCon Day 2:

Learning from my mistake the previous day, I woke up early and decided to head out so I wouldn't miss the keynote. But guess what? Navigating the buses was a bit confusing, and I ended up getting late again 🙂

At least I made it in time for the second keynote, so not too disappointed, haha.

I joined some amazing sessions on day 2 and connected with people like Hoon Jo, Jeffy, Jorge, Jordan, and others people I’d only ever spoken to remotely. It was great meeting them in person.

I attended the Maintainer Circle meetup, where we discussed important issues on growing the sandbox project community and other valuable topics.

Later in the day, I had my own session on Meshery as a speaker. I prepared myself well and gave an awesome talk! at least I think that ;). You can check it out on the CNCF YouTube.

After my talk, we planned to explore Hong Kong, and then, out of nowhere, I saw Linus — yes, Linus Torvalds! I quickly went up to him, chatted for a bit, and even took a picture. That was like the cherry on top of an already great day.

After that, we continued to explore the nightlife of Hong Kong.

KubeCon Day 3 (last):

KubeCon China was a 3-day event, and today was more about saying hi to new faces and goodbye to the people I had already met. It was kind of a half-day, so we attended a few interesting sessions, followed by the closing remarks, and wrapped up an awesome KubeCon.

My experience at KubeCon China was incredible. It was my first KubeCon, and I learned so much while meeting so many amazing individuals. KubeCon is one of the best events for connecting with brilliant and inspiring people.

After KubeCon, my friends and I went to the beach, visited a Buddha temple, grabbed some drinks, and called it a day.

Hong Kong Last Days:

I stayed in Hong Kong for two more days and explored Macau 🇲🇴 and Disneyland. I highly recommend that if you're visiting Hong Kong, make sure to book your tickets for Macau — the city of money.

Final Thoughts:

Before you go, here are my final thoughts:

Thanks for sticking with me this far! 💙 Events like KubeCon are absolutely worth attending. If you're thinking about submitting a CFP, don't hesitate—just go for it. To improve your chances of getting selected, try adding some diversity to your talk and make sure your title stands out.

As for Hong Kong, it's the safest place I've ever been, and the amount of fun I had was some of the best in my life. If you're attending with a scholarship, remember it's not an international vacation—it's for those who genuinely need financial support. I covered my own expenses for this trip, and it was definitely worth it.

If you need to know how I managed my expenses and visa process, let me know I'll share that in other blog.